Colby made the most of timely defense and special teams at Pratt Field, leaving Amherst with a 13–9 victory despite being outgained 387–96. The tone was set on the Mammoths' opening series when safety Brody Rice jumped a route and returned an interception to the Amherst 16. Two snaps later, Miles Drake bulled in from the 1 to stake the Mules to a 7–0 lead at 13:19 of the first quarter.
Amherst answered with a 12-play, 66-yard march to tie it (7–7), but the Colby defense kept bending without breaking the rest of the day. The Mammoths reached the red zone four times and came away with just one touchdown, turning it over on downs twice in the fourth quarter, including a final drive that ended with four straight incompletions from the 10 inside the final 20 seconds
Special teams delivered the game's swing play in the third. With Colby nursing a 7–7 draw and field position tilting, Corey Aubuchon knifed through, blocked a punt at the Amherst 13 and scooped it for a touchdown at 3:22. The PAT sailed wide, but the momentum, and a 13–7 edge, was now on the side of the Mules. Amherst's defense later manufactured a safety with 8:41 remaining to make it 13–9, but Colby's coverage units and punter Eli Soehren (11 punts, 42.3 average, five inside the 20, two 50+) repeatedly flipped the field to protect the lead.
Statistically, Amherst controlled possession (36:53 to 23:07) and moved the ball through the air behind QB Marek Hill (35–62, 306 yards, TD, INT) and receiver Christian Moore (10 catches, 114 yards, TD). Colby countered with situational answers: 1-for-1 in the red zone, a plus-one in turnovers, and a 4–0 edge in punt return impact (including the touchdown). Drake finished 9–17 for 65 yards and added the 1-yard score; Jack Nye paced the receiving corps (5–42). Antone Moreis (23 rush/rec touches) and Patrick Miller helped grind out crucial snaps, even as the Mules found tough sledding on early downs.
Ultimately, the difference was complementary football. Rice's early takeaway created points; Aubuchon's block created the winning margin; the front seven (Sebastien Romain, Declan McNamara, Joshua Iyonsi and company) stacked stops at the goal line; and Soehren's leg handled the rest. It wasn't pretty on the stat sheet, but it was composed, opportunistic, and tough, exactly the road recipe the Mules needed to leave Amherst with a NESCAC win.
Next weekend the Mules will stay home to take on Hamilton at home.
